Xaviers!

The sound of glass shattering, crimson lines zig-zag like spiderwebs and Nailah bolts awake. She's in her dorm room. Propped up on her desk, facing the bed and right in her field of view is a piece of cardboard that simply reads 'You won' in big letters. Her own handwriting. She glances around in confusion. How'd she get here? She carefully moves her legs out from underneath the covers and swings them over the side of the bed. Barely any pain from her leg. None in her shoulder. How long has she been out? On the nightstand next to her is a nice-looking leather-bound journal. She doesn't remember it, but it somehow feels familiar. Important even. She picks it up and flips it open. More of her own handwriting. Messages she's left herself. She's been back at the school for a couple days at the very least based on what she's written down but she can't say for certain.

She pulls open the drawer in her nightstand and digs through it until she finds her phone to check the date. Almost two weeks since she chased Hazard to Lyon. She'd have to figure out a better way to keep track of this. A calendar to check off days. She carefully tries to put some weight on the cast around her leg but it slips on something. She winces at the sudden movement but sitting back down on the bed saves her from the worst. She leans down to grab the piece of paper she'd almost slipped on. A hand-drawn calendar, a bunch of days crossed out with red marker. "Guess I've had that thought before..." she mumbles to herself. On one hand that's convenient. On the other the thought is mildly disturbing. Retracing steps. Retracing thoughts. She runs a hand through her hair to brush back a couple of strands that have fallen into her face and sighs.

The door opens and Wanda enters, her bathroom bag and dirty clothes tucked in one arm and a towel wrapped around her hair. "Good morning," she says to Nailah.

Nailah head snaps up at Wanda, still a bit twitchy and she takes a moment to calm herself down. "Morning..."

Wanda catches the twitchy response and moves to sit on her own bed opposite Nailah. "Bad dream? Just a bad sleep?"

"Adrenaline, I guess. Woke up with a start..." she says, unsure how much she might have told Wanda before. She flips through her journal as she talks. "Hopefully I'll stop feeling like I just passed out next to Hazard eventually."

"That would be a good step in the healing process," Wanda says, trying to be sympathetic. "Is there something I can help with?"

"I have no clue. Lemme know if... I dunno, if I get stuck doing the same thing over and over every day?"

"It's a little hard to tell that from most people's routines, but I'll do my best," Wanda says with a smile, "I don't have any classes this morning, so if you need to go somewhere, I can go with you."

"Routine's fine. I just... I don't wanna think I'm having a new idea when really I'm just having the same thoughts as I did yesterday. Or the day before. Or the day before that. I dunno..." she waves it off when she feels she's not explaining herself particularly well. "And if I needed to be somewhere I probably would have left myself a note. Unless it's something I don't want to do. I probably have class but... that seems kind of pointless right now, so maybe I'll... flunk out? I should probably talk to somebody about that. If I haven't yet." she says as she's flipping through her journal.

"I doubt they'd flunk you out, especially once they're aware of your condition. I would assume they're aware of your condition, but maybe not."

"Says here I was at Muir for a while, so... probably. But there's not really a point to going to class, is there?"

"Maybe it would help you build routine. Add extra mental hooks to hang things onto?" It's obvious Wanda's just trying to be helpful, but she's not really sure how to help.

"Maybe... I guess it can't hurt, right?"

"Won't know until you try," Wanda says with a nod.

"Or just won't know at all." she says in an attempt to joke that falls horribly flat.

"Uhm... anyway... You're kind of a hippie, right? In tune with the weather and nature and all that? Do you, like, have any tips on meditating or stuff like that?"

"I know a bit about it. Although tips entirely depend on who's teaching. It also depends on what you're trying to achieve."

"Figure out my power, I guess. It changed, but it's harder to use and it gives me a headache. I dunno, I just thought since it's all mental that might be a good way to start?"

"Well, the best place to start is probably with mindfulness. A lot of people find the 'empty mind' style harder to achieve and get frustrated."

Nailah nods along as she scribbles down notes. "And what about, like, incense? Or stuff like, you know..." her voice drops to an almost conspiratorial whisper "Pot."

"Incense helps some people, but I wouldn't recommend the other. Sometimes there's such a thing as too relaxed and it can be hard to be aware under the influence."

Nailah nods again and writes more notes. "So you just... sit and relax and try to be... mindful. What's the actually mean?"

"At it's simplest, it's about being aware and focusing on what's going on in the moment." She moves to sit on her bed in a similar posture to Nailah's. "Try this. Close your eyes and just pay attention to your breathing. Don't try to control it, just be aware of it."

"I can do that. Being in the moment's pretty easy nowadays." she says and closes her eyes. She's a little fidgety, but she does try to follow Wanda's instructions and at least focus on those restless movements. In turn they subside for the most part and she seems to get a vague idea of how this is supposed to work. She takes a slow breath and really tries to feel it, picture the air going into her lungs, expanding them, going back out and rushing past her throat and out her nose.

"Good. If your mind wanders, that's okay. Just gently guide it back to your breathing. Be aware of the process, focus on the sensations. The important thing is to focus on what's happening right now, right this moment."

Nailah nods, feeling her hair faintly brush against her cheek from the movement, but when her mind wanders it drifts away from this moment. Ahead. Her breathing remains steady but the sensation gains a strange echo in her mind, as if herself from a couple moments int he future is breathing in tune with her own and it slowly spreads forward, encompassing more and more until it feels like dozens of her are breathing in, breathing out, all at the same time.

"This feels strange..." she hears herself say in her head, again and again as it ripples down towards the present and she finally opens her mouth and actually says it.

"I imagine it might at first," Wanda says, her own breathing slow and controlled. "I know when I first started it felt kind of silly."

"No no no no no..." she rattles on until she seems to snap out of it. "I think I lost track of the now a little."

"Yeah, exactly."

"Like when you put mirrors at an angle to each other."

"Wait, no, you moved and everything's different now."

"Okay, but which moment?"

Wanda frowns, "Okay, I think that's enough for the moment. Take a deep breath."

"Wait... What? Okay..." The fractal impressions in her head seem to subside as her coming out of it slowly ripples down towards her, making it easier to find her way back to the present.

Her eyes snap open and she seems to lose her balance, falling backwards onto the bed. "Whoa..."

"Little much?" Wanda watches her carefully.

"Yeah, but not in a bad way, I think... Less head-achey for sure."

"Well, that's a start. We can keep working on it some other time if you like."

"I... yeah. I need to write this down..." she says, sitting back up with some effort and grabbing her journal.